Super (Hero) Appetites

I have a five, three, and one year old. There is never a dull, or much more so, a still moment. It is always go, go, go. Be it tickling the baby mercilessly, saving the world, dragging mattresses across the house for new wall scenery as they jump, or being eaten by a flesh loving hammock.

Let me tell you, nothing quite works up an appetite like being eaten by a hammock. Or in general just growing at the insanely fast rate kids grow.

Speaking of appetites… SNACKS!

We try and be very intentional about eating. At the table (most of the time). Regular times of eating. No snacking when it will ruin the appetite for dinner. No snacking thirty minutes after dinner because they chose not to eat something they (usually) eat fine. Healthy.

Part of our intentionality is I am trying to do better about snacks. Having nourishing ones ready at regular times. Something I have been struggling with lately, especially since shuffling around food allergies.

Super Nutritious + Super Easy

I realize something has been wrong as a certain super hero has been requesting snacks over meals. “Not lunch, a snack.” I guess if I am feeding them fluff for snacks ,I can’t really think they will look to kindly on nutritionally dense meals. So, no surprise there.

I really want to serve super nutritious (& allergy friendly) snacks, but the need (or at least desire) for super easy has kind of taken over.

But, what if I could have super easy and super nutritious snacks?

Thus began a search on Pinterest and in the creative corners of my mind. I am happy to tell you, I found many ideas. I hope that sharing these healthy snacks for kids ideas will be a blessing to you.

Super Snack Ideas

What is in this list:

This list is Allergy friendly, free of top 8 + corn. There is one that breaks that rule, but I share the incredibly easy sub.

They are easy ideas. The ease might be it takes hardly any time to make and/or they are really easy to make in a large batch to eat off of for a few days. I also like snacks I can make with the kids as that keeps them entertained AND feeds them (win-win).

As far as satisfying super appetites, I tried to keep to snacks that have protein and/or whole (gf) grains so they will be satisfying.

I realize everyone has different definition of “nutritious“, but I kept to natural/whole/real/clean foods. All sweet ideas are refined sugar free (honey or fruit sweetened). The savory ones often involve vegetables in kid friendly manner.

Easy to make ahead and have on hand:

Watermelon Kombucha Fruit Snacks – If you already make kombuchathis is a great way to use it and the super food gelatin for a nutritious snack with at least some protein (gelatin) and lots of probiotics.

Chia Granola Bars– Chia is said to increase energy… not sure if I need that for my kids but it is good for me! This actually breaks the “top 8 free” rule as it has almond butter, but just replace with sunflower butter.

Tahini Date Cookies – We actually usually make these for breakfasts vs. snacks, but if I doubled or tripled I would have snacks for a few days.

Chewy Oat Bars – They are whole grain and naturally sweetened, so a good option for a bit of a treat.

Fruit and Nut Bars (aka larabars or pretty bars) – We make these all the time. Put everything in a food processor, blend, spread out, cut, and optionally chill. To involve the kids we often make them into bliss balls and they get to roll them in coconut.

Chia Pudding – Make a large batch and keep on hand. My son does not like this, but my daughter thinks it is pretty awesome.

Blueberry Sage Puree (for reusable squeeze pouches) This isn’t quite as filling as some of the other ideas, but it looks so easy to transport. Bye bye hungry-at-the-grocery-store meltdowns. For longer trips freeze them and within about 3-4 hours the contents are thawed and you can enjoy them.

Banana bread (or your favorite gluten free bread) – Spread with seed or coconut butter to make it more filling and nutritious.

Hummus and Vegetables – Keep homemade hummus on hand and eat with vegetables. Our favorites are bell peppers (cut to be “nature’s scoops“) and slices of cucumbers.

Babaganoush and Vegetables – Same sort of idea as the hummus + veggies, just a different dip (and a bit heavier on the vegetables).

Slices of Avocado – I say slices so you will think I am sophisticated or something. I actually just cut an avocado in half, remove the pit, and give it to the kids with a spoon.

Leftover sweet potato + Coconut and Seeds of choice- We eat a lot of sweet potato, so frequently have leftover baked ones. I don’t even bother heating them. You can eat them plain of course but I find some seeds and coconut makes them more filling.

About Debra @ Worth Cooking

Debra Worth is first and foremost a daughter of the King of kings. She lives in mid-Missouri with her husband of five years and three young children. Debra has a passion for cooking healthy foods and is author of Much Ado About Chicken and co-author of The Veggie Book. She blogs about healthy allergen friendly foods at her blog Worth Cooking. You can also follow her on Facebook and Instagram.

[…] Creamy! Some of you might have already seen this as I listed it in my Super Snacks post. I am now a monthly contributor to Whole New Mom an allergy friendly, and healthy living, […]

Hello, Debra Worth here!

Welcome to Worth Cooking - where delicious meets easy and nutritious. I want to bridge the gap between what a tired mother feels she needs to do keep her kids healthy, and what the clock and budget allows. Many of my older recipes are allergy friendly and GAPS legal as we did GAPS for my daughter's 25 food intolerances and my allergies. Learn More→

Worth Cooking is a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means for sites to earn advertising fees by advertising and linking to Amazon.com.